Tonight, the Street League gets down to qualifier business at 7 PM PST live from Ontario, California. The big question on everyone’s mind–will Nyjah Huston continue his fat wallet project? We’re going to say yes. Finals are Saturday, June 16, 2012 at 5:45 PM PST. In the meantime, check out a little practice action from DC Shoes. Click here to watch it live online.
[Link: Street League Skateboarding]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The OC Weeky’s Andrew Asch profiles Black Flys co-founder Jack Martinez and the company that he is hoping to conjure up from the ashes. Here’s a little piece:
If anything can put Black Flys back on top in OC, it’s Martinez, with his talent for provocation. Under his direction, the brand was about forcing extremes and having a laugh at convention. In a recent interview at his office, located in one of Irvine’s countless, anonymous office parks, Martinez says he believes the eyewear market is stale and that the industry—dominated by retailers such as Hot Topic and Tilly’s—is ready for a more colorful, wild offering from the likes of Black Flys. But, he concedes, a comeback is far from guaranteed. . . “Every day, we ask that question,” says Martinez, who now sports a shaved head and gold tooth. “Has the world changed? Can we come back?”
Click the link for the rest of this comprehensive story.
[Link: OC Weekly]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Dylan Rieder joined a partnership with Jake Lamagno and Steven Ditchkus on a new hipster antique/furniture/art store on New York City’s Lower East Side. It’s called The Hunt. No, it’s not a skateboard shop, and yes, it is a conceptual retail piece.
[Link: Network A]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Santa Cruz big wave surfer Jeff Spencer, 49, was found dead “near West Cliff Drive” in Santa Cruz, California on Sunday, June 10, 2012, according to a s tory in the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
An off-duty San Jose firefighter came upon Spencer near a fence at David Way about 6:10 a.m., and it was unclear how long Spencer had been dead. A coroner’s autopsy will determine the cause of death later this week. . . Spencer was part of a powerhouse group of Santa Cruz surfers in the 80s that included Richard Schmidt, Vince Collier and Anthony Ruffo. Melissa Kreger, his common law wife of nearly 20 years, called Spencer her soul mate.
Spencer’s cause of death has not been officially released. Like other Santa Cruz surfers of his generation Spencer’s life was “consumed by drug and alcohol abuse,” according to the story. Our thoughts are with Spencer’s family and especially Melissa Kreger.
[Link: Santa Cruz Sentinel]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
It’s Saturday, June 9, 2012 and Gary Ream, the visionary behind Camp Woodward, is leaning against the railing of the upper observation deck inside Woodward Tahoe’s new 33,000 square foot facility (“The Bunker”) looking out over what they’ve created. He can’t help but smile. Moments before, a BMXer fastplanted over and through the ribbon to officially open the facility, and now a constant stream of kids and their parents pour into the building to check out the six olympic sized trampolines, the foam pits, and the concrete skate park for themselves.
While action luminaries like Tony Hawk, Todd Richards, Mike Vallely, Hannah Teter, Tanner Hall, and Slash dine on catered snacks behind him Ream (pictured right with his daughter Kelsey) looks out over the facility and nods. It’s obvious that he is extremely proud and excited about the new facility, but more than that he seems amped on what this means for the future of Woodward action sports complexes.
“Look at this,” he says gazing off into the cavernous space. “You know there’s obviously a lot of passion here. You listen to the kids, we have a great staff and look at the pros and family that showed up. We did this at Copper. We did this in Bejing. We listened to the kids, we listened to the pros. We added a little capital and a bunch of passion and we’re going to do this again.”
Follow the jump for the rest of the story and a slew of photos from the Grand Opening. [click to continue…]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
It was a battle of wisdom vs. youth in the finals of the Volcom Fiji Pro as 40-year-old Kelly Slater faced off against 19-year-old Gabriel Medina in perfect four-to-six foot Cloudbreak. Slater did the usual–he got in early with an 8.33 and a 9.83 and knocked Medina back on his feet and made the Brazilian fight for it. But there just wasn’t time.
“It’s about time I got him,” Slater said. “He had my number in the back half of last year and he’ll probably go on to beat everyone for the next 20 years. He can do it all and I think he proved that to a lot of people this week at Restaurants and out here at Cloudbreak.”
With this win Slater moves into second place in the ASP World Rankings behind Mick Fanning and appears to be well on his way to number 12. Follow the jump for the official word. [click to continue…]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
We never pass up the opportunity to listen to Rodney Mullen speak. Here is his presentation from TEDx and what TED said about it:
What do skateboarding and innovation have in common? More than you might think. A successful entrepreneur and innovator, Rodney Mullen is widely considered the most influential street skater in history, inventing most of the tricks used today. By the time he was 23, Mullen had already set new milestones for skateboarding winning 35 out of 36 freestyle competitions.
But we’ll let Rodney explain it all. The man is obsessed in all the best ways. Just watch the video.
[Link: SkateDaily]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
How nice would it be to run a business where losing $5.1 million in a quarter is good news? For Quiksilver a $5.1 million loss is much better than last year’s $81.7 million Q2 loss, according to a story in Businessweek.
The surf-inspired clothing and gear company posted a loss of $5.1 million, or 3 cents per share, for the quarter that ended April 30. That is down from $81.7 million, or 51 cents per share, in the same quarter last year, when the company incurred a $74.1 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge on its business in Australia and Japan.
Quiksilver’s stock was up 25 cents to $2.69. For a complete transcript of the most recent conference call, click here.
[Link: Businessweek and Seeking Alpha]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The Florence Brothers (2 John, Nathan, and Ivan) and Nyjah Huston have joined the Stance socks program.
“We’re humbled and proud that these guys have decided to be a part of our family. John John and Nyjah seemingly mirror each other in their young competition dominance and credibility as well rounded individuals that truly love what they do.” stated VP of Marketing, Ryan Kingman.
Foot covers are good. Follow the jump for the official word. [click to continue…]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
After waiting out lightning and high winds the Volcom Fiji Pro finally got to finish off the last two heats of Round 2 with Bede Durbidge edging Adam Melling and Kai Otton rolling past Raoni Monteiro in 10 – 12 foot Cloudbreak surf.
“Those were the biggest most perfect waves I’ve ever surfed,” Durbidge said. “It was pretty nerve-wracking being first up. We were on and then off and then on again. You have to be prepared to go. I think everyone on tour is more than capable of handling Cloudbreak as big as it gets, we just have to pick our window with the wind. Mello (Adam Melling) was charging out there too so tough luck to him but I’m pumped to get some bombs and get through to Round 3.”
Round 3 could begin today with Taj Burrow and Durbidge kicking things off. Follow the jump for the official word. [click to continue…]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
